A masked protester has become the seventh person to be sentenced for violent disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.

Luke Fleming attacked police vans and shoved officers during a protest by The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, on 17 July.

He was motivated to commit violence by his “hostile” views towards asylum seekers, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

The 22-year-old, of Thaxted Road in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, admitted violent disorder and was given a prison term of one year and nine months, suspended for two years.

Judge Alexander Mills said Fleming had a “significant” ADHD diagnosis which reduced his ability to make sensible decisions.

“That does not excuse what you did, but it does reduce how much responsibility you have,” he told the defendant.

The arrest – and subsequent jailing – of asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu for sexual offences triggered the initially peaceful protest at 16:00 BST.

However, prosecutor Sam Willis said the arrival of counter-demonstrators sparked clashes an hour-and-a-half later.

“Police officers were subject to sustained attacks for four hours,” said Willis, adding they were punched, kicked and had missiles “repeatedly thrown” at them.

Footage played to the court showed Fleming, who arrived on a moped, wearing a black face covering and coat while grappling with police officers.

The prosecutor said he joined in with “large scale acts of violence” upon arrival, including attacking several police vans.

Mills added: “You threw an object at a police van and you were part of a group acting in a violent and threatening way.”

He said protesters used the arrest of Kebatu as a “cynical excuse to cause mayhem”.

Nicholas Ferrari, mitigating, said events “spiralled very quickly out of control”.

He insisted Fleming’s behaviour was uncharacteristic when considering he had no previous convictions.

As part of his sentence, Fleming will be subject to an electronically monitored curfew between 20:00 and 07:00 for six months.

Fleming’s father briefly collapsed in the public gallery after hearing his son would not be sent to prison.

Three other protesters were jailed in October, while Lee Gower, 43, and 38-year-old Shaun Thompson, both from Epping, were sentenced earlier in June.

Aaron Elles, 28, from Harlow, also received a prison sentence of one year and eight months in October.

Four others are due to be sentenced in August.

BBC News

Three men have been convicted of committing violent disorder during protests outside an asylum hotel in Essex.

Up to 500 people gathered outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on 17 July after a migrant living there was charged with – and later jailed for – sex offences.

Keith Silk, 33, Jonathan Glover, 47, and Charlie Land, 24, formed part of an “aggressive mob” among the crowd, a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

The defendants, from Essex and Hertfordshire, are due to be sentenced on 19 August.

Prosecutors said while the protest was initially peaceful, it descended into “serious public disorder” at about 17:30 BST.

It followed the arrival of about 50 counter-demonstrators, which led to clashes among the two groups.

Silk, of Torrington Drive, Loughton, threw a bottle at a police vehicle and was caught on camera trying to pull a hotel sign from the ground.

Footage also showed a hooded man, identified as Land, of Warren Close in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, smashing the windscreen of a police vehicle and ripping off wing mirrors.

Glover, of Springfields in Waltham Abbey, was seen confronting officers and getting into an altercation with them.

Prosecutor Sam Willis said Glover lost two teeth when an officer pushed him back with their riot shield.

A senior police officer previously described the scenes as the worst he had seen in his 20 years of policing.

Silk and Land were also found guilty of criminal damage.

Several other people have been convicted following the demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel on 17 July.

Three others were jailed in October, while Lee Gower, 43, and 38-year-old Shaun Thompson, both from Epping, were sentenced earlier this month.

Another protester, 53-year-old Phillip Curson, from Upminster in east London, is due to be sentenced on 14 August.

The Essex force has said policing the repeated protests last summer cost £1.54m.

Last week, the Home Office said fire safety concerns had been identified at the Bell Hotel and all asylum seekers were removed.

BBC News

A thug who climbed on top of a police van and engaged in “shameless” violent disorder during a protest in Epping last summer has been jailed.

Shaun Thompson, 38, appeared to cry as he watched back video footage of his behaviour at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday (June 15).

The protester, of Epping, was described as having been “clearly riled up” in the trouble which broke out near The Bell Hotel in Epping on July 17. Thompson – who has a series of previous convictions, including six for battery and two for criminal damage – engaged “quite willingly” in the widespread and significant disorder, the court heard.

Judge Alexander Mills, sentencing, said the protester had “goaded” police officers and “created a real risk of harm” by clambering on top of the moving van. He sentenced Thompson to two years and seven months behind bars.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told on Monday (June 15) that police estimate around 500 people attended the protest on July 17. Mr Sam Willis, prosecutor, said the protest began peacefully but, between around 5.30pm and 10pm, the protest “descended into serious public disorder in the town centre and around The Bell Hotel.”

“Police were subjected to sustained attack for four hours,” Mr Willis said. “Officers were pushed, punched and kicked. Police vans were damaged. Damage was caused to public property and caused the closure of nearby businesses.”

The court was shown footage of Thompson, wearing an England flag as a cape, at the front of a police cordon. In multiple clips of the same incident he was seen clambering onto a Metropolitan Police van as it was moving.

Mr Barry Gilbert, defence, said Thompson has a “long-standing mental health difficulty”. He added: “What we are watching is a man that is not well. I ask, will it do any good to lock him up? It may be that’s what is coming. I would ask you not to do that.”

Thompson had admitted violent disorder and criminal damage relating to the Met Police van at previous court hearings. His criminal record includes nine convictions for 15 offences, including six for battery.

Multiple protests were held outside the hotel last summer after asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu was charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. The Ethiopian national – who came on a small boat to the UK – was convicted of five offences, including sexual assault. He was jailed but wrongfully freed from HMP Chelmsford in October before he was detained and deported to Ethiopia.

Around 100 police officers were deployed to the disorder in Epping from across Essex while neighbouring forces such as the Met, British Transport Police, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire constabularies all supported.

A senior officer with two decades of experience said he had “never witnessed disorder on this scale in Essex, and certainly not in a town like Epping”. The disorder also impacted local businesses who reported having to close early and suffering financial losses. A nearby Shell garage was said to have been the victim of shoplifting and criminal damage during the incident.

Judge Mills said: “This was not a protest. It’s shameless violent disorder. It’s you demonstrating what little regard you had for the police in part because you thought they were in the wrong, apparently for standing up for asylum seekers. They were not standing up for any group but trying to keep law and order for the people in Epping.”

Thompson was sentenced to two years and seven months immediate imprisonment.

Essex Live

He was described as having participated “quite willingly” in the disorder

A football coach who had a key role in violent disorder in Epping last summer has been jailed. Lee Gower, 43, was one of several who took part in a protest near to The Bell Hotel in the town on July 17.

He was convicted of violent disorder after a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court earlier this year. Gower was described at an earlier hearing as “the man who runs the local football team” and a “pillar of the community”.

Judge Alexander Mills said if his conduct on the side of a football pitch is “anything like your actions that day then it raises serious concerns”. Gower shook his head as he was told he would serve two years and nine months behind bars.

The court heard that a nearby Tesco, the Shell Garage and a local pub were all impacted by the disorder. The pub had to close its car park, leaving customers unable to get to it, while Tesco and the garage both closed early. There was also “huge financial loss” to the businesses.

More than 100 police officers were deployed to the disorder in Epping, involving officers from Essex as well as the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire constabularies. Many of them worked extended 12-hour shifts. A senior officer with two decades of experience said he had “never witnessed disorder on this scale in Essex, and certainly not in a town like Epping”.

Multiple protests were held outside the hotel last summer after asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu was charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. The Ethiopian national – who came on a small boat to the UK – was convicted of five offences, including sexual assault. He was jailed but wrongfully freed from HMP Chelmsford in October before he was detained and deported to Ethiopia.

At his sentencing on Thursday (June 11), Gower was described as a community figure. Tony Wyatt, defence, said: “Lee Gower is a well liked member of the community and very much a community man. It’s that status that has been triggered for ending up with him being there.”

Dad-of-two Gower was said to have two previous convictions for three offences, dating back to 2002.

Judge Mills said: “You participated quite willingly in disorder that was widespread. It came at a significant cost to the police in finances and resources.

“You goaded and were violent and hostile to the police and counter-protesters. In doing so you were constantly at or near the front of the crowd. You were a material contributor to the events that day.”

Essex Live

A MAN has pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman.

Craig Kitts, aged 25, of Beamish Close, North Weald, pled guilty to the following at Colchester magistrates court.

On August 7th, in Epping assaulted a female by beating her.

Kitts was fined £120.00

Your Harlow

Lee Gower, 43, and Phillip Curson, 53, joined originally peaceful demonstrations outside the Bell Hotel on July 17 last year.

Two men have been convicted of being part of a “violent mob” at an asylum hotel protest in Epping which saw police officers attacked and the town descend into chaos.

Lee Gower, 43, and Phillip Curson, 53, joined originally peaceful demonstrations outside the Bell Hotel in Essex on July 17 last year and later took part in widespread disorder as tensions between groups of protesters and police boiled over.

Multiple protests were held outside the venue over the summer after asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu was charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

The Ethiopian national, who arrived in the UK on a small boat days before the incidents, was later found guilty of five offences – including sexual assault – at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

Kebatu was jailed but was then wrongfully freed from HMP Chelmsford in October, before he was detained and deported to Ethiopia later that month.

On Friday, a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court found Gower, of Epping, and Curson, of Upminster, east London, guilty of committing violent disorder.

Gower was cleared of assaulting a police officer during the protest.

A sentencing date has yet to be set.

Prosecutor Sam Willis told jurors during the trial: “Although the protest began peacefully, it became violent – and these defendants are alleged to have been part of an aggressive mob that resorted to repeated acts of violence and vandalism – turning the town of Epping into a scene of disorder and chaos.”

He said violence by Gower, Curson and others included “punching, kicking, throwing, pushing and shoving – mostly aimed at police officers and police vehicles, but also sometimes aimed at the counter-protesters”.

Jurors were told that six people had already pleaded guilty to violent disorder relating to the protest on July 17.

Crowds started to gather outside the Bell Hotel from around 4pm that day, with 400 to 500 people attending the protest, the trial heard.

At about 5.30pm, around 50 counter-protesters arrived at Epping station and were escorted by police towards the hotel.

As this was being done, protesters outside the hotel started to run up the road to confront the counter-protesters and police attempted to keep the two groups separate by implementing a cordon.

The originally peaceful protest descended into scenes of public disorder.

Chief Inspector Stuart Austin, of Essex Police, told the court that bottles, milk and flour were being thrown, and people were attacking officers with shields.

He also said police vehicles were having their windscreens hit and wing mirrors torn off.

Tony Wyatt, defending Gower, told jurors his client went to the protest “about a very specific and very valid issue”, and “as a pillar of the community”.

He said Gower asked a police officer “why are you pushing me?” and that the force Gower used was “in self-defence and it was most certainly reasonable”.

Stefan Bisson, for Curson, said footage shows police “pushing back those local protesters” after counter-protesters arrive.

He said that “in the heat of everything” Curson pushed a police officer and added that he had acted in self-defence and in defence of others.

Evening Standard

Two men have admitted violent disorder during a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex.

Shaun Thompson, 38, and Luke Fleming, 21, “used or threatened unlawful violence” near The Bell Hotel in Epping on 17 July, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

Protests were staged there during the summer after a migrant living at the hotel was charged with and later jailed for sexual offences.

Fleming, from Thaxted Road in Buckhurst Hill, and Thompson, from Buckingham Road in Epping, will be sentenced at a later date.

Thompson had already admitted criminally damaging a police vehicle by punching it at a previous hearing.

Fireworks were let off and eggs were thrown at police officers and at the hotel on 17 July, Essex Police said at the time.

It described the protest initially being “peaceful” before disorder broke out among some.

At least eight of its officers were injured that evening, the force also said.

Thompson and Fleming were released on bail ahead of their sentencing.

BBC News

A former soldier has been fined for assaulting a journalist during a protest against asylum seekers staying in a hotel.

Stephen Coulman, 53, of Mousehold Lane, Norwich, had previously admitted pushing a reporter in the back on 24 August.

The protest was against housing asylum seekers at Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe, Norwich.

Judge Matthew Bone, who acknowledged Coulman’s military service and the fact he was receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, fined him £200 and ordered him to pay £50 compensation to the journalist.

The court heard how a journalist from the Eastern Daily Press went to speak to people at the protest when he was pushed by Coulman.

The police then advised the journalist that he was no longer safe to stay at the protest, and he left.

District Judge Bone said Coulman’s actions stopped the reporter from being able to carry out his job.

“When you use any violence at a protest, you run the risk of creating more violence,” he said.

He asked Coulman about his military service and was told the former soldier had served his country during the first Gulf War and lost a family member while serving in Northern Ireland.

The BBC has learned that the the cost of policing the protests in Bowthorpe has been an average of about £56,000 a time.

The hotel, operated by Best Western, is one of many across the UK that are closed to other guests while they house about 32,000 asylum seekers.

BBC News

A man who threatened to bomb a hotel housing asylum seekers has been sentenced.

Ben McCormack, 40, of Hudgell Road, Stansted, Essex, was in a pub in Epping on 24 August when witnesses heard him using racist language and swearing.

When asked to leave by staff, he told them he was going to bomb the premises and the nearby Bell Hotel, which has housed asylum seekers.

He was given an 18-month community order at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday.

On the day of the incident, McCormack also carried out a racially motivated assault on a member of the public, said police.

McCormack wrongly believed the stranger was an asylum seeker residing at the hotel and directed obscene, racist and threatening language towards him.

He also punched and pushed the man.

In court, McCormack admitted two offences of making threats to destroy property and one offence of racially aggravated assault.

He must not enter Epping town centre as part of the conditions of his sentence and he must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Det Con Emma Jackson said: “McCormack’s actions were, by his own admission, shameful.

“Intoxicated, in the middle of the day, he used racist language and made threats in front of pub customers and staff.”

BBC News

Police said the 28-year-old acted in an ‘intimidating way, encouraging other people there to face off against our officers’.

A fourth man has been jailed for violent disorder following demonstrations outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.

Essex Police said Aaron Elles attended a protest outside The Bell Hotel in Epping wearing motorbike clothing, including a crash helmet to conceal his identity on July 17.

The force said the 28-year-old, of Harlow, acted in an “intimidating way, encouraging other people there to face off against our officers”.

He also “kicked an officer which led to other people pushing, shoving, and striking other officers”, police said.

Elles pleaded guilty to violent disorder at an earlier hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

He later indicated an intention to vacate his plea and a judge set a trial date next year alongside other defendants, but this was not pursued and he was sentenced on Thursday, Essex Police said.

The force said Elles was jailed at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday for one year and eight months.

Multiple demonstrations have been held outside The Bell Hotel after asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu sexually assaulted a woman and a 14-year-old girl in the town.

The 38-year-old Ethiopian national, who arrived in the UK on a small boat days before the incidents in July, was jailed for 12 months at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court last month.

Officers, who arrested Elles at his home address on July 23, also found a small amount of cannabis in his motorbike jacket.

He also admitted possession of a Class B drug.

Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “Elles is now the fourth person be sentenced for the actions on the evening of July 17.

“This was an evening in which officers had been trying their utmost to facilitate protest and counter-protest, which is our lawful duty.

“Elles was among a section of people in the crowd who were intent on escalating what had begun as a peaceful protest into violence.”

Three men, Martin Peagram, Dean Smith and Stuart Williams, were each given jail sentences on October 6, having pleaded guilty to violent disorder at earlier hearings.

Peagram, 33, of Loughton, was jailed for two years and two months; Smith, 51, of Epping, for one year and 10 months; and Williams, 36, of Thornwood, Epping, for two years and four months.

Four more men are due to stand trial for violent disorder from March 23 next year, with a further three to stand trial from June 1 at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Evening Standard